I traveled last week to visit my kids in Michigan. I had been planning it since May and hadn't really thought about it until a couple of days before I left. It was a short 5-day vacation but I enjoyed it very much. I made a conscience effort to "be present" when I got on the plane. When I got to Michigan, we had no plans and decided to take it easy and let the days' plans unfold. In my past, I would have had to make every minute count and account for every minute. That's not how I live my life these days. So, minus the anxiety of trying to figure out what we would do, I simply listened. I listened to hear about my kids' life. I listened and watched to hear and see how they roll. We were sitting around Friday afternoon, unsure of what to do next. She said, "anybody wanna go to IKEA?" My son whipped around in his chair with his eyes lit up. YES! He wanted to go. It was a precious moment for me. A little insight. I had no idea how much they loved IKEA until we were in the car 10 minutes later, set for 1 1/2 hour drive to IKEA. They were in heaven. I was in "mom" heaven!
TAKE AWAY: Listening is not always about hearing.
Sometimes it is about seeing.
Very good lesson for me to learn. Thank you!
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